Roundabout journey of biblical proportions - Christine Grahame

Traffic was brought to a standstill on the Edinburgh City Bypass last Thursday due to severe flooding. Picture: Dr David Mitchell

Which brings me to the Sherriffhall roundabout and the A720. The good old Edinburgh City Bypass. Now I use both the roundabout and the road very frequently as it links me with all parts of my constituency, Midlothian South Tweeddale and Lauderdale – now there’s a mouthful. From there I can commute down the A68 to Lauder Earlston and Melrose, the A7 to Stow and Galashiels, the A701 to Penicuik and Peebles and the A702 to Silverburn and Garvald which forms part of the boundary of my constituency.

So it came to pass, almost biblically as was befitting the deluge on Thursday evening, that as I turned into the lane on the bypass for Penicuik I immediately hit a tailback. I had been there before one wintry day when it took me, as it did on Thursday, well over one hour to reach the Penicuik slip road but again it was too late to switch lanes. Those of you familiar with the bypass know that the first slip road travelling east to west is indeed the slip road to Penicuik and beyond to Peebles. One and a half hours later I had made it.

In the meantime no sight of traffic police while the west to east road was pretty well free running. Accordingly I asked in Parliament if it could be possible in extremis for the central barrier in part to be opened, having stopped the opposite traffic and for traffic police to guide those who wished, to about turn. There are of course emergency laybys but there is no hard shoulder which might be utilised so I am supposing there must be in place provisions to release say a trapped ambulance. I am now following this up with Police Scotland and other agencies.

Finally on a journey which took an extra hour I made it to Penicuik to make a short speech as the community installed their Hunter Lad and Lass. However Penicuik itself was substantially flooded on the main road to Edinburgh. I navigated, appropriately, a road which had become a small river on the way in but it had grown voluminously during my brief sojourn and the return journey was through scary flood water. Of course the car did not escape and I let it crawl home as it groaned and grinded finally with a loud bang regaining some power.

Now I was the lucky one, the engine was not affected and I was not stranded but many on the bypass were. Elderly and folk with children all trapped for hours. I understand that police did intervene helping folk trapped but I have to say I saw none during my one hour on the A720. There were no signs on the feeder roads or quite frankly I would have simply turned and gone home. We all know how vital this road is, virtually a route circling the city, but there needs to be a full appraisal of what works and what doesn’t when extreme weather prevails or worse still when there is a serious accident. I’ll see where my enquiries with Police Scotland take me.

​Christine Grahame is SNP MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale